Well here's my first post corresponding with my first mosin!
I dunno what it is, or how to tell. But fwiw all the serials match. Unfortunately I do not have a before picture.
I wanted to preserve this piece instead of trying to "improve" it or "restore" it. I think I screwed it up though. I was using MEK to remove, what I thought was Cosmo off the stock. I think I stripped off the original shellack. Which sucks big time. Who knows who's DNA was buried in there! But anyway, it's all over but the crying now. I also very LIGHTLY sanded the stock with 800g sand paper to smooth out the texture created from stripping it. I've debated on taking some super fine steel wool and finishing it, but I decided to seek help before I did anything else.
On the plus side, there is no more Cosmo.
Let me know what you think, and if someone could point me toward some information, a mosin "primer" if you will, I can continue my research. I know you guys probably don't feel like spoon feeding me this information.
What do everyone's trained eyes see?
My untrained eye sees:
A refurbished izhevsk with hex reciever from 1931. Looks like a Tula bolt.